A Shropshire company has made a “key” contribution to training county firefighters in how to enter buildings quickly in an emergency.

Building products manufacturer Epwin Group, a UK leader in innovative door and window design, gave hundreds of door locks to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service to train firefighters.

Fire officers had been searching for more than a year for a company with a cheap source of doors, locks and handles, to help during specialist training sessions for all Shropshire’s 500 wholetime and on call firefighters.

"The Epwin Group has donated a large quantity of obsolete locks and handles which have been perfect and allowed us to improve our training methods,” said Ian Pugh, Crew Manager of Green Watch at Wellington Fire Station.

"With these donations from the Epwin Group, every firefighter has been able to get hands on training.

“Without it we would probably have had to carry out demonstration and observation sessions. These donations are vital for practical and realistic training to help firefighters make a quick entry into a property in an emergency.

"It also means we can reduce unnecessary damage to a property and reduce any potential injury to firefighters.”

Paul Lindsay, Sales Director of Epwin Group, which employs 300 at its HQ in Stafford Park, Telford, said they were more than pleased to help.

“The firefighter training department is just up the road from our HQ in Stafford Park, so when they approached us asking for support, we were very happy to help, as is the ethos at Epwin.

“The great work our fire services do, really does save peoples lives. We owe them a great fortune so it’s our pleasure if we can assist in improving the service they are able to provide.

“Everyone we dealt with was also very professional and entirely grateful. We are glad we were considered for the occasion,” added Mr Lindsay.